Berry-Lincoln Family Connections

William Franklin Berry 1811, the son of Rev John McCutchen Berry 1788 and grandson of James Berry 1740 was a close friend of Abraham Lincoln,

Reverend John McCutchen Berry our Great-great-grandfather's great-uncle and his son William,our 1st cousin 5 times removed, opened the Berry-Lincoln Store New Salem, Illinois In 1833 The close family ties that our Berry’s had with Abraham Lincoln are well documented and indisputable. The cousin relationship through Rebecca Berry, is further evidence of these bonds.
The Rev. John McCutchen Berry is known to us, of course, mostly as the pastor at Rock Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church and Father of Abraham Lincoln’s partner in the stores.

In August, 1832, Abraham Lincoln entered his position as a storekeeper with William F. Berry.William Franklin, Reverend Berry's oldest son, was a very astute business man, and he did not leave a large debt for Lincoln to pay off. He had some wealth and actually paid some of
Lincoln's debts. Malaria fever had spread throughout New Salem and William caught it and died on January 10, 1835. He was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery where a huge oak stands. His father gave much of the land for the cemetery also.
President Lincoln, who was for about three years in the family of William Berry’s father, was present at the marriage of Baxter Berry, and also attended, their “infare dinner” at the home of Mr. Berry’s father. Abraham Lincoln was best man at the wedding of Elizabeth and Baxter Berry, and he gave them a berry bowl set as a wedding gift.
Abraham Lincoln often came to the Berry cabin for advice and counsel. At one time Abraham Lincoln defended a group of women who had invaded a grog shop and caused a great deal of damage. Reverend Berry was in the courtroom and Lincoln pointed to him and said, "There is a man who, years ago, was instrumental in convincing me of the evils of trafficking in and using ardent spirits. I am glad that I saw him; I am glad that I ever heard his testimony on this terrible Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 4 of 59
subject." Lincoln came to see Reverend Berry the evening before Ann Rutledge died, for consolation. He spent the night in the Berry home, pacing the night away.
In 1831, Abraham Lincoln arrived in a flat boat in New Salem, Illinois, where he would live for the next seven years. He soon made friends with William Franklin Berry, a hard-working young man who was the son of Reverend John Berry, founder of Rock Creek Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In New Salem, William Berry and Abraham Lincoln founded two Berry-Lincoln stores;and for a short time, the two men were thriving merchants.
Apparently the business attracted Lincoln for lack of other plans. He described it in his 1860 autobiography, written in the third person: "He studied what he should do -- thought of learning the blacksmith trade -- thought of trying to study law --rather thought he could not succeed at that without a better education. Before long, strangely enough, a man offered to sell, and did sell,to Abraham and another as poor as himself, an old stock of goods, upon credit. They opened as merchants; and he says that was the store."
The Berry family came from Kentucky in 1822, in a Conestoga wagon, to start a new church at Rock Creek, Illinois. The family built a one-room log cabin in which to live, until a permanent home could be built next door. They hired D.S. Taylor to build a multi-room dream house that was unlike anything in the area, at the time. The house had frame construction with oak and walnut panels, as opposed to the common log houses in New Salem. It was built over a full-sized, deep cellar, which was practically unheard of at the time; and the house featured whitewashed plastered floors and walls.Lincoln was a frequent visitor to the house - not only to see his friend William, but Lincoln also visited the house to discuss Whigism with Rev. Berry and to attend Sunday night church services, in the parlor room. Rev. Berry sometimes held the evening services in his home, rather than heat the entire church for such a small, intimate gathering. The home also served as a voting place for elections, and Lincoln served as judge in at least one election there.
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After Lincoln left New Salem to pursue a career as a lawyer, he received news that his sweetheart, Ann Rutledge, was dying. He made the long trip from Vandalia, the former Illinois state capital, to her home in Concord, north of Petersburg, Illinois. On the way to his destination,he stopped at the Berry home and was invited to spend the night. Lincoln was so distraught and depressed, however, that he paced the floor until dawn, when he could complete his journey to find Ann on her deathbed.The Berry farm expanded and included a 40-acre tract, joining a similar tract of land owned by Reverend Camron, the founder of New Salem. In the early 1900s, the Berry house was converted into a corn crib and eventually abandoned, allowed to decay and to be overgrown with brush and vines, until it was documented, salvaged, and razed in 2001.
Abraham Lincoln and W. G. Jeter were well acquainted. It is said, by family tradition, that there

was a romantic interest between Abe Lincoln and Elizabeth Berry, but she thought him

unattractive and turned her attention elsewhere.

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Lincoln the Storekeeper
In 1832 Lincoln returned to New Salem from the Black Hawk War. He was unemployed and did not know what he wanted to do. His first thoughts were to become a blacksmith or a lawyer, but initially he decided against both.The idea of being a storekeeper, however, appealed to Lincoln. Everywhere that he lived, the town merchant was looked up to as a leading citizen. His place of business provided a focus of community life. The store was a common meeting place of farmers and was popular among the loungers. People gathered at the store to talk about politics, religion, and current events. They told stories and jokes, and the news was discussed. The opportunity to talk with others attracted Lincoln; thus he decided that storekeeping would be a good line of business for him.
There were three general stores in operation in New Salem. They were Samuel Hill's, Reuben Radford's, and the Herndon Brothers'. One of the Herndon brothers had just sold his share in the business to William F. Berry. The other Herndon brother was a very good friend of Lincoln.
Although Lincoln had no money at the time, Herndon had no problem selling to Lincoln.Herndon wrote, "I believe he was thoroughly honest, and that impression was so strong in me, I accepted his note in payment of the whole. He had no money, but I would have advanced him still more had he asked for it." Because of the Herndon brothers selling out, Lincoln and Berry became partners. The first store that they operated was located on the main street.
One night, Reuben Radford's store was vandalized. Radford was so discouraged that he sold the store to the first buyer, a man by the name of Greene. Greene and Lincoln took inventory and Greene then sold the store to Lincoln and Berry. After buying Reuben Radford's store, Lincoln and Berry bought James Rutledge's store. All these stores were combined by Lincoln and Berry.As a result, Lincoln and Berry gained a monopoly over the general stores in New Salem.Some of the items that Lincoln and Berry sold were lard, bacon, firearms, beeswax, and honey.
In addition to these items, they also sold liquor, as most of the stores of the day did. Every store could sell liquor in quantities larger than a quart without having to get a license, as long as it was not consumed at the store. During one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Douglas accused Lincoln of once keeping a "grocery." In the frontier days, a grocery was the name for a tavern. A license was required to sell liquor in quantities less than a quart, and consumed on the premises. Only when one was licensed would one be engaging in the occupation of grocery-keeping as a tavern. Lincoln and Berry decided to keep a tavern in addition to their general store, to try to make some more money. Berry issued a license to Lincoln and himself in 1833. Neither of the signatures was in Lincoln's handwriting, however. Lincoln denied that he ever kept a grocery, and said that he never liked liquor or its effects. One historian claimed that "local tradition maintained that disagreement over the sale of liquor caused the dissolution of the Lincoln-Berry partnership soon after they obtained the liquor license."
Lincoln had a wonderful time working at the store. He talked and joked for much of the time. He often told very entertaining stories, but, unfortunately, they usually kept the customers from buying anything. Most of the time, Lincoln read or was wrapped up in politics. One historian wrote that, "sometimes, intending purchasers found him [Lincoln] not in the store at all, and had to call him from the wayside, where he was sprawling in the grass, covering a wrapping paper with problems in mathematics." Another historian concluded, "He had little aptitude for business; he was not a shrewd bargainer."Lincoln was always very honest, just as legend says. He did not exaggerate the truth or make a customer want to buy something unnecessary. He always made sure to tell customers that they would regret the whiskey or tobacco that they were thinking of buying. Lincoln told customers when the quality of a particular product was not very good. If he ever made a mistake in moneyor weight, he walked for miles to give the customer his correct change or amount of something.Lincoln had left a large part of the business management to Berry. Berry, although a son of a minister, had devoted himself to the store's supply of whiskey. He also spent much of his time The tavern that Lincoln and Berry were planning never opened. At the time, they were thinking of selling their store to the Trent brothers. The Trent brothers had no intention of paying, and were willing to give notes to any amount. They soon left, and Lincoln and Berry were overwhelmed with debts.
In less than a year, Lincoln and Berry's business had failed. The partnership, as Lincoln stated,"Did nothing but get deeper and deeper in debt." As soon as he could. Berry left. Lincoln was then left with many debts, and only the worthless notes of Berry and the Trents. Lincoln labored for many years, and finally paid off every debt, so large some called it "the national debt." Storekeeping helped Lincoln prepare for the presidency in many ways. Since the store was a place to socialize, Lincoln learned how to work with people. He built his conversational skills as well as his wit and storytelling skills. Lincoln also gained popularity as a storekeeper.

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Lincoln at New Salem Photo Tour

http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/newsalem/salemtour.htm

While you're touring Lincoln sites in Springfield, allow a few hours to explore New Salem, the pioneer village where Lincoln lived as a young adult. You'll find the village about 20 miles northwest of Springfield on highway 97. It's a great place to bring kids (by the carload or busload) or take a leisurely walk through the woods.
While you're touring Lincoln sites in Springfield, allow a few hours to explore

Saw and Grist Mill
This reconstructed building shows the mill where Abraham Lincoln worked when he moved to New Salem in July 1831. He had been hired by Denton Offutt, who rented the mill from village founders John Camron and James Rutledge.
Before Camron and Rutledge could construct the mill they had to dam the Sangamon River to increase water flow. Once the mill began operation it supplied the surrounding countryside with meal, flour, and lumber, and attracted more businesses to the area.

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Second Berry-Lincoln Store
George Warburton built a frame store here in 1831 and operated a mercantile business briefly.After he sold his interest in it, the store changed hands a number of times until Abraham Lincoln and William Berry took it over in 1833.
Although this was a larger store with better goods than their first one, Lincoln and his partner did not prosper. As Lincoln admitted, "Of course they did nothing but get deeper and deeper in debt.

The store winked out."

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Berry and Lincoln-The Store That “Winked Out”

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4yl_ocQ4EK9WFRlaHdmLWJjdVNLdGJNMFJuV3FTR0hpY

VVj/view?pref=2&pli=1

This is the first fully documented account of the Berry and Lincoln Store ever published. Much of the material that appears here for the first time completely upsets the traditional history of that enterprise. William F. Berry did not die a drunkard's death. He did not die a bankrupt. He did not leave one single debt... of any manner of his incurring, for Lincoln to pay. He did not pull out of the partership
These writers and many others have reworded the same old myth which was launched during Lincoln's first presidential campaign. Spears and Barton prove that in this book that Berry is the most maligned man in the whole saga partnership because of a quarrel with Berry.

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The Berrys and Lincoln-Extract from “The Berry Patch”

The Berrys and Lincoln

Information on the following story of Berry and Lincoln has been taken from“Berry and Lincoln, The Store that Winked Out”. The two authors challenge the array of Lincoln experts had reasons of personal interest for devoting themselves
to this task. Zarel C. Spears is the grandson of Mary Harriet (Berry) Spears,

favourite sister of William Franklin Berry. Robert S. Barton is the son of Lincoln

biographer and historian, the late Rev. William E. Barton.

This is the first true picture of the young men, William Berry and Abraham Lincoln, during the brief period that they ran the ill-fated store in New Salem,Illinois. For over three-quarters of a century biographers of Lincoln have kept alive a story that was originally published as a common yarn.
As a young man Abraham Lincoln had been a partner in a general store which had failed. In readying their man for the presidential campaign of 1860 the managers of the Republican candidate thought it necessary and wise to justify that failure for the purposes of the campaign. No better scapegoat was to be found that the other partner who was by that time conveniently dead.
As new facts were uncovered, related to existing material, and arranged in correct sequence there gradually came to light a true picture of Berry. As he spoke his short piece on the stage of history he took on flesh and blood and became a living human being.
The Lincoln of this period also came alive. He no longer did things that were completely out of character. Here is a vivid account of the very beginnings of the adult life of the man who said “I do the very best that I know, the very best I can, and I mean to keep doing so until the end”.
Much of the material that appears here completely upsets the traditional history books. William F. Berry did not die a drunkard’s death. He did not die bankrupt, He did not leave a single debt, of any manner of his incurring, for Lincoln to pay. He did not pull out of the partnership because of a quarrel with
Many stories are known of Abe Lincoln, but few about the life of his business partner, William Franklin Berry, the son of the Reverend John McCutchen Berry.
Elsewhere in the book it has been mentioned about how William Franklin helped his father and family while they migrated from Indiana to Illinois, but little has been said of his life as a very young man. As Bill was the eldest son, much of the labour and its attendant responsibility fell upon him. In the absence of his father, the minister, he was considered the man of the house.
In the eyes of Mary Harriet, his little sister, Bill was a great hero. Mary Harriet remembered particularly a dramatic incident when she was nearly five years old. En masse, the Berry family, laden with baskets and bundles of good food, were walking to the home of Squire Elihu Bone to help with celebrate a family anniversary. The family walked single fil, over a log which spanned Rock Creek near their home. Father was in the lead, with the largest basket; next came mother, carrying Susan the baby; then brother Bill sixteen years old,followed by Finis Ewing, now a lad of nine; then George, Emily Ann and Mary Harriett, with the dog serving as rear guard. Suddenly deciding to take a more advanced position in the parade, the dog dashed past the children upsetting Mary Harriett into the middle of the creek that was not yet frozen over. Her arms and legs splashed mightily, propelling her downstream, but layers of petticoats kept her afloat until brother bill could put down his basket and rescue her from the icy waters. There had always been a bond of companionship and understanding between the lad and his smaller sister Mary. It was Bill who fashioned her willow whistles, whittled her wooden dolls and made a sled for her.
It was he who boosted her high into a tree to peek into the robin’s nest; Bill was the one who knew just how to set a trap to catch rabbits for the little girl’s pets. She was often his only companion on those summer afternoons when he took her fishing and they stole into the cool shady woods; for their favourite fishing spot was a deep and solemn secret. Silent and motionless as any little girl could be, she watched the bobber in breathless excitement until it disappeared and Bill would then help her land her squirming captive.When winter came and Bill would follow his trap lines through the snow,inspecting the snarls concealed in hollow stumps and under tangles of prairie grass. A happy red-cheeked little girl clung to the sled that Bill pulled behind him. He would pause to show little Mary the footsteps of the mink and opossums, Bill would explain to her where and how the little creature of the woods made their homes and how the raccoons always carried their food to the edge of the stream and washed it thoroughly before they ate it. Explaining to her about the tiny footprints in the lee of a large stump where the rabbits had been playing that night in the moonlight, many times little sister was too tired and sleepy even to ride home in the sled, so Bill would let her ride piggyback and she would bury her face in the tail of his coonskin cap and rest her feet on the stiff leather holsters, which he always wore strapped around his buckskin On the eight day of January, 1832, William Franklin reached the age of majority. It was reasonable to assume that in accordance with the customs ofthat time, Bill had received a patrimony of some kind from his father. This could have been in the form of money or land or cattle; it is believed he received bounty land of his own. Whichever was the case, Bill converted into cash and available capital or perhaps his credit was good, backed as it was by theexcellent credit of his father and his uncle Samuel Berry.
Meanwhile the following events had taken place: Abe Lincoln with his step-brother John D. Johnson and his cousin John Hanks were floating a flat boat loaded with cargo down the Sangamon River on April 19, 1831, with their destination down the Illinois River to the Mississippi River to New Orleans. They came to a dam which had been built across the Sangamon River near New Salem, Illinois. Their flatboat became stuck on the dam; soon the river bank was lined with spectators harassing and teasing them; however a few willing to help. After the men completed their trip to New Orleans, Abe Lincoln gave a lot of thought to New Salem and he returned to seek work and live in that area.
The next year, 1832, the Black Hawk War broke out. Many of the men in New Salem enlisted for thirty days. Assembling at the Richland Creek, the volunteers choosing Lincoln as their Acting Captain of the A. Lincoln Co. 4th Regiment of Mounted Volunteers. In return, Lincoln made other appointments, among which was William Franklin Berry as his Third Corporal. The men joined other groups at Beardstown on the 22 the New Salem volunteers mustered out at Fort Johnson, Ottawa, Illinois, and returned home. Abe then re-enlisted at least two times. During this time William Franklin Berry returned home and bought out the interest of James Herndon’s Store, then known as Herndon Brothers Store. The firm then became Herndon and Berry Store. Later, in August, Abe Lincoln purchased the interest in the store that had been owned by J. Rowan Herndon, thus making the store known as Berry and Lincoln Store.
Always progressing, in 1833, Berry and Lincoln purchased the damaged goods from “Slickly Bill Green”, owner at that time. Lincoln and Berry then moved to a new location just across the street, very much in debt. When Lincoln’s note fell due, he could not satisfy the debt. At this time Abe’s good friend and partner, William Franklin Berry, executed a mortgage on his own lots and holdings to cover Abe’s debt.
In the summer of 1833 farmers and neighbours were busy with their crops, so customers were few and far between at the Berry Lincoln Store. Even so, Abe helped a man and his family who needed food and assistance for his family and stock. In return, Abe took a wooden keg as payment. When Abe and Bill went through the contents of the keg, they found “The Blackstones’ Commentaries”,the greatest law books published at that time. Abe and Bill Berry spent many hours near the fireplace reading these law books. It has been claimed that these books laid the foundation of Abe Lincoln’s becoming a fine lawyer.
The first of the two to try politics was William F. Berry, who ran for and was elected Constable in August, 1833. He attended Circuit Court for 9 days and received the magnificent sum of nine dollars! That October William F. Berry registered at the Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois, and he returned for theend of April, thus forming a force of 1600 men. On May 17
summer session. While Bill was away in College, the store business was taken care of by Abe Lincoln.
Another connection to Lincoln was through Bill’s father, the Reverend John McCutchen Berry. Friends often came to his home for counsel and one night Abe came to visit with the minister. Reverend Berry said “I have to preach at Willey Renshaw’s tonight, will you join us?” Lincoln replied yes, he would like to join them. So the group walked the two miles to the meeting and returned to the Berry home after the sermon. Possibly Lincoln talked over his business problems with the minister, as he seemed dreary and worried. Shortly after his visit,Lincoln’s worries became realities when Van Bergen levied a foreclosure on joint and separate property of young Bill Berry and Abe Lincoln. A Mr. Watkins also levied foreclosure on his judgement for the price of a horse he had sold to Abe.Once again William F. Berry bailed out his friend and partner by paying the Radford Van Bergen) note in full and also by satisfying the judgement on Lincoln’s note which Berry had already endorsed. About this time the Berry and Lincoln partnership was mutually dissolved. On November 29, 1834, Abe Lincolnmoved to Vandalia alone.
The following has been taken from the Menard County Courthouse, Petersburg, Illinois and Sangamon County, Courthouse, Springfield, Illinois.
William F. Berry vs. Eli C. Blankenship
This Indenture made this Twenty ninth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty three between William F. Berry of the County of Sangamon and the State of Illinois of the one part, and E. C.Blankenship of the County and State of the other part.
Witnessed: That the said William F. Berry for and in consideration of the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, to him in hand paid, the receipt where of is hereby acknowledged, has given, granted bargained and sold by these presents does give, grant, bargain and sell all his right, title, interest and estate in and to: The west half of lot number one south of main street in the town of New Salem. To have and to hold to the said E. C. Blankenship his heirs or assigns forever, the above lot of ground together with all and singular the privileges andappurtenances there unto to belonging.And the said William F. Berry doth covenant to and with the said E. C.Blankenship to warrant and forever defend the title of said lot of ground against the claims of any and all persons whomsoever.
In testimony whereof the said William F. Berry has hereunto set his hand and seal the day and year above written.
William F. Berry
The condition of the above Deed is such: If A. Lincoln shall satisfy the demands of a note by him executed and endorsed by J. R. Herndon, bearing date April 1833, payable to E. C. Blankenship, the above to be null, void, and of no effect, but if said Lincoln shall utterly fail to discharge said note, said deed to remain in full force and virtue at law.In testimony whereof the said William F. Berry and E. C. Blankenship have hereunto set their hands and seals this 23 day of May 1833.
Wm. F. Berry, E. C. Blankenship State of Illinois, Sangamon County Personally came William F. Berry before the undersigned an acting Justice of the Peace for the County and State aforesaid who is personally know to said Justice to be the identical person that executed the within deed and acknowledges the signing and sealing thereof to be his act and deed for the purpose therein contained.

Given under my hand and seal this 23 day of May 1833. Bowling Green J.P.

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Baxter Bell Berry 1807, Sergeant-Major in Lincoln’s Co.

Great-great-grandfather's uncle

Baxter Bell (1807-1891)

Birth: 25 Oct 1807, Franklin Co., Tennessee, Death: 2 Dec 1891, Sebastopol, Sonoma Co.

Burial: 3 Dec 1891, Sebastopol Cemetery, Sonoma Co., California

Occupation: Carpenter, Religion: Presbyterian

Father: Samuel BERRY (1780-1855), Mother: Anny WEIR (1784-1834)

Spouse: Elizabeth Preston CAMRON

Birth: 13 Jan 1813, Hopkinsville, Christian Co., Kentucky

Death: 3 Apr 1896, Sebastopol, Sonoma Co., California

Burial: 5 Apr 1896, Sebastopol Cemetery, Sonoma Co., California

Father: Rev. John Miller CAMRON (1790-1878)’ Mother: Mary ORENDORFF (1794-1875)

Marriage: 2 Oct 1832, New Salem, Sangamon Co., Illinois

Children: John Henry (1833-1905), James Augustus (1835-1852, William Preston (1837-1889), Lamira Samantha (1840-1931), Samuel Bonham (1842-1908), Margaret Lutitia (1845-1934), Charles Shields (1848-1906), Evaline (1854-1921)
Baxter Bell Berry was born in Franklin County, Tenn., near Nashville, Oct. 25, 1807. His early years were spent in the place of his birth. When about eighteen years of age he moved with his parents to Sangamon County, Illinois, and when twenty-one he started out for himself to learn the carpenter’s trade; but the Indians became troublesome and he joined the state service to assist in quieting them. He began again to work at his trade when the Indians were subdued and continued at it until 1832, when he again entered the service for the Black Hawk War. He was made Sergeant-Major of Col Collin’s regiment, under command of Brigadier-General J.D.Henry, serving till the close of the war.Baxter Bell Berry was first elected a justice of the peace in Bernadotte, Fulton County, Illinois,in 1836, serving for eight years. In 1845, Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa, he served in the same official capacity, holding office until 1852, when he left in the Purvine wagon train for the gold fields of California. Arriving in Sonoma County, he first leased a farm from Jasper O'Farrell in Analy Township, near Sebastopol, and later bought it. In 1856 he elected to the County Board of Supervisors. In 1859 he was again elected to justice of the peace, and two years later succeeded himself for another two-year term. Again in 1870 elected justice of the peace, he held the office for eighteen years, having served in the various communities in which he had lived for more the one-third of his eighty years.

Baxter Bell Berry (1807 - 1891)* Grave Site

Elizabeth Preston Cameron Berry (1813 - 1896)
Lincoln's New Salem 1830-1837 In 1831, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 22 when he and a couple of companions floated down the Sangamon River in a flatboat on their way to New Orleans. In mid-April, he neared New Salem, Illinois, a small village founded two years earlier by James Rutledge and John M.Berry The people of New Salem first noticed Lincoln shortly after he arrived, when his flatboat became stranded on the nearby milldam. A crowd gathered to watch the group of men work to free the boat--included among them was a lanky fellow who had taken charge. Under his direction, the other crew members unloaded the cargo from the stern causing the flatboat to right itself. The tall young man then went ashore and borrowed an auger from Onstot's cooper shop, drilled a hole in the bow allowing the water to drain out, which caused the flatboat to ease over the dam.Denton Offutt, who had hired Lincoln to man the flatboat, was impressed with Lincoln's handling of the incident, and awarded him with the offer of a clerk position in his store.However, when Lincoln returned from New Orleans, the store was not yet open, so Lincoln took a variety of other jobs, including helping to pilot a steamboat down the Sangamon River to Beardstown on the Illinois River.
Back in New Salem, Lincoln participated in his first election on August 1, 1831. He entertained bystanders during slow periods of the election. By remaining at the polls throughout the day, he met most of the men who lived in the New Salem area, the vast majority of whom would laterhelp elect him to the Illinois State Legislature.
In April of 1832, Chief Black Hawk, leader of the Sac and Fox tribes, along with several hundred well-armed Indians, crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, with the intention of planting corn. Their arrival caused panic among the Illinois frontier communities, and Governor Reynoldscalled for volunteers to drive the Indians out.
During this time, all white males between the ages of 18 and 45 were obligated to enlist in the militia, and provide themselves with the proper equipment. Lincoln was still employed by Offutt when the call came out, but he saw that the store was about to fail, so he enlisted at Richland for 30 days service beginning on April 21, 1832. Each company elected its own captain.The men in Lincoln's company were friends and neighbors from the New Salem area; they elected him Captain by a huge majority. His term of service expired on May 27, 1832, but Lincoln re-enlisted two more times totalling 51 days of service. Lincoln saw no fighting during this all this time, but he did help bury five men who had been killed and scalped at Kellogg's Grove. Lincoln was mustered out of federal service on July 10, 1832, at White River, Wisconsin Territory; he walked back to New Salem. He would always treat this service lightly, but it did provide him with a knowledge of soldiers and their lifestyles--and a small land grant in Iowa.
Lincoln returned to New Salem just two weeks before the August election, and immediately returned to campaigning for the State Legislature, which had been interrupted by the Black Hawk War. He made very few speeches, but at Pappsville, a town just west of Springfield, a large crowd asked him to speak. According to A. Y. Ellis, a New Salem merchant, Lincolnresponded with the following remarks:
"Fellow citizens, I presume you all know who I am-I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My policies are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance. I am in favor of a National Bank, I am in favor of the internal improvement system, and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected I shall be thankful; and if not, it will be all the same."
Lincoln lost the election of 1832, but he gained an enthusiasm for politics that would always remain with him. There were 13 candidates in this election, and out of a total of 8,315 votes cast,Lincoln received 657 votes. Of the 300 votes cast at New Salem, Lincoln received 277.
With the election over and with no job, Lincoln looked for other opportunities. He soon found himself a merchant in his own right. In January 1833, he entered into a partnership with William F. Berry to purchase a small store. This venture didn't last long. According to Lincoln, this business simply put him deeper and deeper in debt. In April of 1833, he sold his interest in the Lincoln received an appointment as Postmaster of New Salem on May 7, 1833. He retained this position until the post office was relocated to Petersburg on May 30, 1836. How Lincoln got this job, is not known for certain. According to one source, the women of New Salem were irritated when Samuel Hill, the former postmaster, spent more time serving the men whisky instead of taking care of postal duties. As postmaster, Lincoln was always willing to please customers and would go out of his way to do so.
For example, when he knew that someone was waiting for an important letter, he would walk several miles to deliver it. If he was going to survey a piece of land in the country, he would deliver the mail to the people along the route. This job was not a confining one and Lincoln supplemented his post office income with odd jobs such as splitting rails, harvesting crops,helping at the mill, and tending store in New Salem.
Towards the end of 1833, Lincoln secured employment as a deputy to John Calhoun the county surveyor. At first Lincoln didn't want the job, but after being assured that the job would not
involve political commitments, he accepted it.
When William Berry, Lincoln's former business partner, died on January 10, 1835, Lincoln was saddled with the debts of the partnership. (As late as 1848, while serving as a United States Congressman from Illinois, Lincoln was finally able to pay off what he called "the national His formal education prior to his New Salem years was limited, but Lincoln seemed to have an early interest in legal matters. When still a young man growing up in Indiana, he borrowed a copy of the Revised Statutes of Indiana and read it with care. In 1833, he purchased a book of legal forms, and drew up mortgages, deeds, and other legal documents for his friends at no charge, and even argued minor cases. But it was at New Salem that he began studying the law in earnest, with the encouragement and advice of John T. Stuart.Lincoln traveled the 20 miles to Springfield in order to borrow books from Stuart's law office.
His diligence proved successful. On September 9, 1836, Lincoln was granted a license to practice law. On March 1, 1837, the Illinois Supreme Court awarded him a certificate of admission to the bar. He had begun the career that he would follow for the remainder of his life; he was no longer "a floating piece of driftwood," as he once referred to himself.
After the Illinois State Legislature adjourned on March 6, 1837, Lincoln returned to the fading village of New Salem. He saw no future there for either legal work or wider politicalopportunities. Springfield, on the other hand, offered both. He was well known there, and he enjoyed increasing popularity because of his efforts to move the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. On April 15, 1837, on a borrowed horse, with everything he owned in two saddlebags, Lincoln moved to Springfield, the place he would call home for the next 24 years of

https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/newsalem.htm

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 21 of 59

Black Hawk War 1832

William Franklin Berry 1811, Corporal, 1st cousin, 5 times removed fought under Captain

Abraham Lincoln’s Company.

Baxter Bell Berry 1807, Sergeant-Major, our Great-great-grandfather's uncle, fought under

Captain A. Smith’s Company, Sax and Fox War.
The Black Hawk War was a brief 1832 conflict, between the United States and Native Americans, led by Black Hawk, a Saukleader. The war erupted soon after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis, and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crossed the Mississippi River, into the US state of Illinois, from Iowa Indian Territory in April 1832.Black Hawk's motives were ambiguous, but he was apparently hoping to avoid bloodshed while resettling on tribal land that had been ceded to the United States in the disputed 1804 Treaty of St. Louis. US officials, convinced that the British Band was hostile, mobilized a frontier militia and opened fire on a delegation from the Native Americans on May 14, 1832.
Black Hawk responded by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run. He led his band to a secure location in what is now southern Wisconsin and was pursued by US forces. Meanwhile, other Native Americans conducted raids against forts and settlements largely unprotected with the absence of US troops. Some Ho-Chunk and Potawatomi warriors with grievances against European-Americans took part in these raids, although most tribe members tried to avoid the conflict. The Menominee and Dakota tribes, already at odds with the Sauks and Meskwakis,supported the US.
Commanded by General Henry Atkinson, the US troops tracked the British Band. Militia under Colonel Henry Dodge caught up with the British Band on July 21 and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. Black Hawk's band was weakened by hunger, death, and desertion and many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. On August 2, US soldiers attacked the remnants of the British Band at the Battle of Bad Axe, killing many or capturing most who remained alive. Black Hawk and other leaders escaped, but later surrendered and were imprisoned for a year.

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 22 of 59
ON APRIL 21, 1832, ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND MEN FROM NEW SALEM AND CLARY’S GROVE ASSEMBLED ON THE DALLAS SCOTT FARM TO FORM A COMPANY FOR THE BLACK HAWK WAR. THE MEN INCLUDING WILLIAM GREENE, JACK ARMSTRONG
The Black Hawk War gave the young captain Abraham Lincoln his brief military service. Other participants who later became famous included Winfield Scott, Zachary Taylor, and Jefferson Davis. The war gave impetus to the US policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River and stay there.

WILLIAM F. BERRY AND OTHERS ELECTED LINCOLN THEIR CAPTAIN

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/blackhawk

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 23 of 59

Berry-Lincoln Family Relationship

President Abraham Lincoln 1809

Born February 12, 1809 in Sinking Spring Farm, Hodgenville, Hardin County, Kentucky, USA,

Son of Thomas H. Lincoln and Nancy (Hanks) Lincoln

Brother of Sarah (Lincoln) Grigsby and Thomas Lincoln Jr

Husband of Mary A. (Todd) Lincoln, married November 4, 1842 in Springfield, Sangamon,

Illinois, United States

Father of Robert T. Lincoln, Edward Baker Lincoln, William W. Lincoln and Thomas Lincoln

Died April 15, 1865 in Washington City, District Of Columbia, District of Columbia, United

Relation: 2nd cousin 7 times removed's husband's 2nd cousin once removed

2. Harvey Harris Berry is the father of William Harvey Berry

3. William Oscar Berry is the father of Harvey Harris Berry

4. Thomas Logan Harris Berry is the father of William Oscar Berry

5. Capt. William Preston Berry is the father of Thomas Logan Harris Berry

6. Samuel Berry is the father of Capt. William Preston Berry

1. William Harvey Berry is your father

7. James Berry, ll is the father of Samuel Berry

8. Thomas Berry, Sr. is the father of James Berry, ll

9. James Berry, Sr is the father of Thomas Berry, Sr.

10. John Berry is a brother of James Berry, Sr

11. Rebecca Berry is a daughter of John Berry

12. Jemima Gillespie is a daughter of Rebecca Berry

13. James Boone Tallman is the husband of Jemima Gillespie

14. Benjamin Tallman is the father of James Boone Tallman

15. Ann (Dinah Tallman) Lincoln is the mother of Benjamin Tallman

16. John (Virginia) Lincoln is a brother of Ann (Dinah Tallman) Lincoln

17. Abraham Flowers Lincoln is a son of John (Virginia) Lincoln

18. Thomas Lincoln, Sr. is a son of Abraham Flowers Lincoln

19. President Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America is a son of

Thomas Lincoln, Sr.

Rebecca Berry 1751, daughter of John Berry 1695, 1st cousin 8 times removed

Rebecca Berry 1751 and Jacob Gillespie are the parents of Jemima Gillespie Tallman.

John Berry 1695 is the brother of James Berry 1690, our 7th generation great-grandfather

John Berry 1695, Direct ancestor (8 generations)'s uncle

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 24 of 59

Lincoln Family

Mordecai Lincoln 1686

Birth: Apr. 24, 1686 Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA

Death: May 12, 1736, Amityville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA
Mordecai was the earliest direct Lincoln ancestor of the President to settle in Pennsylvania. With him came his brother, Abraham, the first of the Lincoln clan to bear that name. They were the sons of Mordecai Lincoln of Scituate, Massachusetts, and the grandsons of Samuel Lincoln of Hingham, the first Lincoln progenitor of the President to settle in America.
Both Mordecai and his brother Abraham lived in New Jersey about seven years before migrating to Pennsylvania. While residing in New Jersey, Mordecai married Hannah Saltar, to which union there were born one son, John, and five daughters. One of the daughters died in infancy and lies buried in Monmouth County, New Jersey.Mordecai and Hannah Lincoln and their family settled at "Scoolkill," later called Coventry Township, in Chester County. Here Mordecai, in partnership with Samuel Nutt and William Branson, operated a forge on French Creek - just how long Mordecai remained here it is difficult to determine. There is some indication that he intended to return to New Jersey as he sold his interest in the forge for five hundred pounds on December 14 1726, and five months later he bought of Richard Saltar, a tract of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Apparently it was about the time of the New Jersey land purchase in 1727 that his wife, Hannah, passed away and left him with five children, the oldest but eleven, and the youngest, an infant born shortly beforethe mother's death.
"Mordecai Lincoln married Hannah, daughter of Richard and Sarah Bowne Salter previous to 1711, as in that year Hannah Lincoln is mentioned in a will of Captain John Bowne, 2nd (her uncle). The settlement of this estate involved a tedious lawsuit which is noted in Book No. 1,Minutes of Court, Freehold. Mordecai Lincoln's will was admitted to probate at Philadelphia,June 7, 1736. The plantation of Mordecai contained 1,000 acres situated in Exeter, now Berks County, Pennsylvania."

Parents: Mordeke Lincoln (1657 - 1727), Sarah Jones Lincoln (1660 - 1702)

Spouses: Hannah Saltar Lincoln (1692 - 1727), Mary Robeson Lincoln (1704 - 1783)*

Children: Deborah Lincoln (1716 - 1720)*, John Lincoln (1716 - 1788)*, Hannah Lincoln

Millard (1719 - 1757)*, Mary Lincoln Yarnall (1719 - 1769)*, Ann Lincoln Tallman (1725 -

1812)*, Sarah Lincoln Boone (1727 - 1810)*, Mordecai Lincoln (1730 - 1812)*, Thomas

Lincoln (1732 - 1775)*, Abraham Lincoln (1736 - 1806)*

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 25 of 59

https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/newsalem.htm

John "Virginia John" Lincoln 1716

Birth: May 3, 1716, Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, USA

Death: Nov., 1788, Linville, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA

"Virginia John" Lincoln, great-grandfather President Abraham Lincoln, son of Mordecai Lincoln

Jr. and Hannah Salter. Born May 3, 1716 in Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey; married

July 5, 1743 with Rebekah Flowers, widow of John Morris. Died Nov 1778, Linville Creek,

Augusta (Rockingham) Co., Virginia; buried at the John Lincoln Homestead Cemetery,

Rockingham County, Virginia.

Parents: Mordecai Lincoln (1686 - 1736), Hannah Saltar Lincoln (1692 - 1727)

Spouse: Rebekah Flowers Lincoln (1720 - 1806)

Children: Abraham Flowers Lincoln (1738 - 1786)*, Hannah Lincoln Harrison (1748 - 1803)*

Lydia Lincoln (1748 - 1816)*, Isaac Lincoln (1750 - 1816)*, Jacob Lincoln (1751 - 1822)*

John Lincoln (1755 - 1835)*, Sarah Lincoln (1757 - 1820)*

Thomas Lincoln (1761 - 1819)*, Rebecca Lincoln Rimel (1767 - 1840)*

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 26 of 59

Ann Lincoln Tallman 1725

Birth: Mar. 8, 1725, Exeter, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Death: Dec. 22, 1812, Linville, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA

Parents: Mordecai Lincoln (1686 - 1736), Hannah Saltar Lincoln (1692 - 1727)

Spouse: William Tallman (1720 - 1791)

Children: Patience Tallman (1743 - 1761)*, Benjamin Tallman (1745 - 1820)*, Mary Tallman

(1747 - 1751)*, Sarah Tallman (1749 - 1770)*, Thomas Tallman (1751 - 1753)*, Mary Tallman

(1753 - 1757)*, Thomas Tallman (1757 - 1757)*, William Tallman (1759 - 1760)*

Ann Tallman (1761 - 1762)*

Captain Abraham Flowers Lincoln 1738

Birth: May 13, 1738, Amityville, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Death: May 7, 1786, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, USA
One day in May 1786, Abraham Lincoln was working in his field with his three sons when he was shot from the nearby forest and fell to the ground. The eldest boy, Mordecai, ran to the cabin where a loaded gun was kept, while the middle son, Josiah, ran to Hughes' Station for help.
Thomas, the youngest, stood in shock by his father. From the cabin, Mordecai observed an Indian come out of the forest and stop by his father's body. The Indian reached for Thomas,either to kill him or to carry him off. Mordecai took careful aim and shot the Indian in the chest,Tradition states that Captain Abraham Lincoln was buried by his cabin, which is now the site of
Long Run Baptist Church and Cemetery near Eastwood, Kentucky. A stone memorializing
Captain Abraham Lincoln was placed in the cemetery in 1937. Bathsheba Lincoln was left a widow with five underage children. She moved the family away from the Ohio River, to Washington County, where the country was more thickly settled and there was less danger of
Indian attack. Under the law then operating, Mordecai Lincoln, as the eldest son, inherited two-thirds of his father's estate when he reached the age of twenty-one, with Bathsheba receiving one-third. The other children inherited nothing. Life was hard, particularly for Thomas, the youngest, who got little schooling and was forced to go to work at a young age.
In later years Thomas Lincoln would recount the story of the day his father died, to his son, Abraham Lincoln, the future sixteenth president of the United States of America. "The story of his death by the Indians," the president later wrote, "and of Uncle Mordecai, then fourteen years old, killing one of the Indians, is the legend more strongly than all others imprinted on my mind and memory. In regards to Mordecai's wit and talents, on several occasions, President Lincoln referred to his uncle as his most important familial influence, and once remarked that "UncleMord had run off with all the talents of the family.
Like Abraham Lincoln, his uncle's family was also subject to depression, called "the Lincoln horrors. Aside from sharing the tendency to melancholy, Mordecai and his sons also appeared to share a sense of humor as well as a physical resemblance with Abraham Lincoln
Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 27 of 59 father's family settled in Pennsylvania and Abraham was born in Berks County, the first of 9 children. Abraham became a tanner, perhaps because of a family relationship with James Boone,a well-regarded tanner who lived nearby. James was an uncle of Daniel Boone and his daughter was married to Abraham's father's half-brother.
Much of the Lincoln clan moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia when Abraham's father purchased a large tract of land there in 1768. Abraham received a portion of the land, married and began having children. When the American Revolution broke out, Abraham became involved with the local militia. He served as a captain of the Augusta County militia first and later with the Rockingham County militia when that county was established in 1778.

Parents: John Lincoln (1716 - 1788), Rebekah Flowers Lincoln (1720 - 1806)

Spouse: Bathsheba Herring Lincoln (1748 - 1836)*

Children: Mordecai Lincoln (1771 - 1830)*, Josiah Lincoln (1773 - 1835)*, Mary Ada Lincoln

Crume (1775 - 1832)*, Thomas Lincoln (1778 - 1851)*, Nancy Lincoln Brumfield (1780 -

1843)*, Abigail Lincoln Morse (1782 - ____)*

Thomas Lincoln 1778

Birth: Jan. 6, 1778, Rockingham County, Virginia, USA

Death: Jan. 17, 1851, Coles County, Illinois, USA

Father of US President Abraham Lincoln. The migrations of Thomas were extensive. 1802 found him in Hardin County, Kentucky where he married Nancy Hanks and was the birth place of their three children. In 1816 a move was made to southern Indiana onto a homestead claim where Nancy died and was buried. 1830 saw him on the move again, this time to Macon County, Illinois with his second wife Sarah. He stayed only one year before moving to Coles County Illinois. At this point Abraham, experiencing a strained relationship with his father, went out on his own. In terms of education Thomas lacked ambition, and never fully understood Abraham's desire to read and learn. Here Thomas stayed for the rest of his life until his death at age 73.
During his life, he was a farmer a carpenter and even worked for a time as a guard for county prisoners. After the future president parted company with his father, he did have some contact.

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 28 of 59

By 1841, Thomas owned 120 acres of land but eventually sold a third of his land to Abraham (now a successful lawyer) to get out of financial difficulty. Abe Lincoln held on to this land for
the purpose of providing a living place for his devoted stepmother in the event of his father's death. In 1848, Thomas again received money from his son to save the rest of the land from a forced sale. Abraham did not attend the funeral of his father upon his death but did visit the grave during a visit with his stepmother with whom he kept a close relationship until his death.

Parents: Abraham Flowers Lincoln (1738 - 1786), Bathsheba Herring Lincoln (1748 - 1836)

Spouses: Nancy Hanks Lincoln (1784 - 1818)*, Sarah Bush Lincoln (1788 - 1869)*

Children: Sarah Lincoln Grigsby (1807 - 1828)*, Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)*

Thomas Lincoln (1811 - 1815)*

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 29 of 59

Tallman Family

Benjamin Tallman 1745, 2nd cousin 7 times removed's father-in-law

Birth: Jan. 9, 1745, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Death: Jun. 4, 1820, Pickaway County, Ohio, USA

Pvt Army Amanda Corps. PA Militia Revolutionary War Parents: William Tallman (1720 -

1791), Ann Lincoln Tallman (1725 - 1812)

Spouse: Dinah Boone Tallman (1749 - 1824)*

Children: William Tallman (1766 - 1850)*, Sarah Patience Tallman Brumfield (1767 - 1816)*

Sarah Tallman (1769 - ____)*, James Tallman (1771 - 1846)*, Samuel Tallman (1772 - 1823)*

Thomas Tallman (1774 - 1794)*, Benjamin Tallman (1776 - 1776)*, Annah Tallman (1777 -

1778)*, Nancy Ann Tallman Tong (1781 - 1826)*, John C Tallman (1788 - 1857)*

James Boone Tallman 1771, 2nd cousin 7 times removed's husband

Birth: Apr. 8, 1771, Exeter, Berks County, Pennsylvania, USA

Death: Apr. 8, 1846, Lewis County, West Virginia, USA

Parents: Benjamin Tallman (1745 - 1820), Dinah Boone Tallman (1749 - 1824)

Spouse: Jemima Gillespie Tallman (1785 - 1866)

Jemima Gillespie Tallman (Berry) 1785, 2nd cousin 7 times removed

Birth: Sep. 22, 1785, Green Bank, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, USA

Death: May 16, 1866, Pocahontas County, West Virginia, USA

Burial: Tariff Cemetery , Roane County, West Virginia, USA

Spouse: James Tallman (1771 - 1846)*

Daughter of Rebecca Berry 1751 and granddaughter of John Berry 1695

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 30 of 59

Camron Connections

Rev. John Miller Camron 1790

Elizabeth Preston Camron, daughter of John Miller Camron and Polly, married Baxter Bell

Berry, our Great-grandfather's great-uncle

Rev. John Miller CAMRON (1790-1878) Grave Site:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50603823

http://www.electricscotland.com/history/world/bios/camron_john.htm

Relation: Great-great-grandfather's aunt's father

1. William Harvey Berry is your father

2. Harvey Harris Berry is the father of William Harvey Berry

3. William Oscar Berry is the father of Harvey Harris Berry

4. Thomas Logan Harris Berry is the father of William Oscar Berry

5. Capt. William Preston Berry is the father of Thomas Logan Harris Berry

6. Baxter Bell Berry is a brother of Capt. William Preston Berry

7. Elizabeth Preston Camron is the wife of Baxter Bell Berry

8. Rev John Miller Camron is the father of Elizabeth Preston Camron John Camron’s first sermon was preached in the home of Samuel Berry, father of Baxter Bell Berry, who became son-in-law of Camron. The Rev Mr. Camron and his wife, Mary (called Aunt Polly), had twelve children, eleven daughters and one son. Elizabeth (Betsy) Preston 1813-1896 married Baxter Berry in 1832 in New Salem.”

John M. Camron, nephew and partner of James Rutledge in the mill and town of New Salem,was born in 1790 in the state of Georgia. He was the son of Thomas and Nancy (Miller) Camron,his mother being the sister of James Rutledge’s wife. Camron was a millwright by trade and a Cumberland Presbyterian preacher by ordination. His parents were born in Scotland and came to this country with their parents when they were children. They married in Georgia and had ten children: four sons John, Thomas Jr., James M., and William, and six daughters - Susanna (1792-1883), who married William Rutledge (1790-1864) a brother of Anne Rutledge; Nancy, Flora,Annie, Polly (1804-1880) who married 1824 Absalom Maxwell and who lived in Fulton County,IL (55 years), where she died, and Jane Camron.
Thomas Camron Sr. was first cousin with Simon Camron, United States Senator from Pennsylvania and Secretary of War under President Lincoln.Camron’s early days in Kentucky are quite remarkable. When a teenager, John Camron would bring Audubon local birds to sketch; he spent a great deal of time visiting Mr. and Mrs. Audubon

John Camron married Polly Orndorff (spelling varies) in the state of Kentucky. She was of Russian descent. He followed the fortunes of the Rutledge Families from Georgia to Tennessee, Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 31 of 59 from there to Kentucky, then White County, and from there to the southern part of Sangamon County, and in 1825 settled with them in Concord neighborhood, about seven miles north of New Salem. He entered in 1828 the land on which New Salem was located, and he and James Rutledge built a dam across the Sangamon River and erected a grist and sawmill combined,which they operated by water power.
The settlers from all around brought their teams and wagons and, without charge, hauled rock to fill the log pens, side by side in the river to make the dam. Camron built his home at New Salem sometime in 1828, erecting it on the south slope of the ridge running east and west protecting it from the cold. In 1829 to 1833 he was very prominent in business affairs, conveying many tracts of property. After 1833 no deed or transfer of property to which he was a party is to be found until 1841, when he conveyed the balance of his land at New Salem, including the mill, to Jacob “John Camron wrote his name without the letter “e”. In the inscriptions on the tombstones of himself and his wife, Mary, in the Sebastopol Cemetery the surname is without an “e”. Also, on the tombstone of his only son, Thomas Porter Camron, who is buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery,Petaluma, Sonoma County, 1854, the “e” is omitted.” Sometime later, the names on the tombstones were changed to include the “e”. When John Camron’s second wife Sarah Ann Rodgers was buried in the Sebastopol plot in 1887, the name on her tombstone was erroneously inscribed ‘Camron’. Camron is the Scottish form and Cameron the English version. Whether the name became changed through ignorance of funeral directors and cemetery officials or through lack of instruction by the family is not known.”

Berry-Lincoln-Rutledge-Camron-New Salem History Page 32 of
Simon Camron (March 8, 1799 – June 26, 1889) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War.
Camron made his fortune in railways, canals and banking, founding the Bank of Middletown. He then turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,succeeding James Buchanan. Originally a Democrat, he failed to secure a nomination for senator from the Know-Nothing party, and joined the People's Party, the Pennsylvania branch of what became the Republican Party. He won the Senate seat in 1857, and became one of the candidates for the Republican nomination in the presidential election of 1860.
Camron gave his support to Abraham Lincoln, and became his Secretary of War. He only served a year before resigning amidst corruption. Camron became the minister to Russia during the Civil War, but was overseas for less than a year.